mz253 wrote:I've never had allergies in my life. Will that change if I move to Austin?

Some people have horrible allergies here. I don't have any. If you are allergic to cedar... yahhhhhhh prepared to get owned.

mz253 wrote:

ArchRoark wrote:BC so you can withdraw from Texas and hopefully they pick me to fill your spot. B)

I would pick UT, but if you don't have a desire to practice in Texas then the choice is much harder. BC has a bunch of competition, not just in Boston, but in the region as a whole. UT is the powerhouse of Texas, and cost of living here is significantly lower. Plus, Austin is a kick ass place to spend three years. I bet you will fall in love with it. However, if you are a wuss, the 100+ degree summers will kill you. But, there is always A/C.

the biggest complain I have about BC is the weather. I just hate snow. I grew up in southwest China, it's humid and hot. I don't like hot summers, but I prefer that to cold winter and snow!

Ahh man, then you will love it here. If there is one thing we have, it is hot and humid. It was tshirt weather this last weekend, got a bit cold the last couple of days, but it is already warming back up. I don't even own a "real" winter coat.

but it's really far from the ocean right. sf/seattle weather would be ideal for me. but UW is not as good as UT, and I cannot get into Stanford/Berkeley, and Hastings is too expensive for its rank. So I guess UT is prob my best bet now!

mz253 wrote:but it's really far from the ocean right. sf/seattle weather would be ideal for me. but UW is not as good as UT, and I cannot get into Stanford/Berkeley, and Hastings is too expensive for its rank. So I guess UT is prob my best bet now!

It still gets very humid here. Seattle is rain all day, every day. UW is like UT, in that it dominates its region. I would take UW over Hastings any day of the week, but would still would go to UT over all of them (minus Stanford). Obviously, I am biased as a Austin native and UT alumnus.

oh, weather is one of the most important factors for me. Unless I'm living in NYC/bBostion/Chicago. I have serious SAD and sometimes I become suicital in New England. I need to move to somewhere there's more sunshine!

my 2 cents; im Asian, grew up in TX, currently living in the northeast, and have lived in Houston and Austin haha

TX is a huge state -- grew up there and there are a LOT of areas I have never been to. the major cities are all pretty diverse with something for everybody. having really only visited San Antonio and lived in Houston/Austin, i have NEVER felt any sort of (explicit) racial tension or lack of diversity. but Austin > Houston any day of the week imo. Houston gets a bit boring is all, though it is shinier and prettier than the downtown area of Austin (but Austin will grow on you! mom and pop shops while Houston is all franchises). unfortunately, Austin, unlike Houston, does not really have a chinatown

i dont love the heat or the humidity, but i hate the cold. i can deal with the heat, and come on, it is TX. you're hot for what...the 30 sec walk to your car? A/C in every building and cars to every location. sure you'll break a sweat in those 30 sec but

Austin's weather is a bit nicer than houston's. i hear allergies can be a prob there, but i never had allergies growing up and had zero probs for the yrs i lived in Austin. UT Austin also has a large Asian population..i think UT Austin is one of the higher ranked schools when it comes to popularity for asian transfer students. ~20% of UT is Asian. It is a pretty liberal city too, esp. when you consider the fact that it is in TX lol.

unlike in Houston, if you go to UT Law, you can probably get around fine without a car for 3 yrs. some of your friends will have it for whenever you need to get somewhere interesting, but most ppl live in nearby off campus dorms. the free UT shuttle bus stops at plenty of locations as well if you're not excited about walking (though Austin is pretty bike-friendly for a TX city).

LOTS of good looking ppl in TX...esp. UT Austin, but im a guy so...lol. comparing markets and M&A work...i know the biglaw firms in TX do M&A work, but im sure you'd see more of it at NYC. however, i dont know what the chances of getting biglaw at NYC out of BC are compared to chances of getting biglaw in TX are out of UT. thing is, UT is a powerhouse in TX because TX is a pretty insular state. you need ties to the area to usually get a biglaw job there, but going to UT law = ties. i dont know the costs of the two schools either -- is one cheaper than the other for you? either way, the amount of money you make in the NE...well, let's just say, COL is prob only half as expensive in Houston/Austin/Dallas as it is in the major NE cities. Half. i just played with a COL calculator the other day and 160k in NYC = 70k in Houston. wow. TX also survived this recent recession a lot better than most other states since it is big energy and a very 'stable' housing market (never make a lot but cant lose a lot either).

being fluent in multiple languages is a great asset. firms definitely like it, esp. asian languages since a LOT of expansion is happening there. knowing both japanese and chinese will be super useful for you.

There is some VC and PE work in Texas, but not as much as in the three bigs: New York, Nor. Cal and Boston. There are some good players in Texas (mostly in Dallas and Houston), but not the quantity or quality of work you'll find in the big PE and VC markets.

I wouldn't take advice from a message board of 0Ls (seriously, someone suggested Texas because it has Fortune 500 companies. Clearly he/she doesn't know what a PE or VC firm is). You should research the top VCs and PEs in the country and see where they are located and try to determine who their counsel is. It might be a fun exercise and you will enter law school with a good grasp of the players in the market you are trying to enter.

[quote="Informative"] I wouldn't take advice from a message board of 0Ls (seriously, someone suggested Texas because it has Fortune 500 companies. Clearly he/she doesn't know what a PE or VC firm is). [quote]

I mentioned the Fortune 500 companies as evidence that there is a large business economy in Texas. But you're right--clearly, I don't know what a VC firm is. What does VC stand for?